Hi all,I hope everyone is having a good weekend,and after the Terminator flicks,a friend invited me to another double bill.
Having seen the first on disc,I found it to be even better on the big screen,with the pace of the flick flowing so well. Before seeing the second one I'd seen headlines mentioning it had more comedy,and for the first 40 minutes I went,OK, it is more of a comedy flick,but the jokes are being used well to establish the gang. And then it hit a wall,and as it went on,it hit me what I was going to write about the "problems" of the film.
For what ended up being the longest film analysis I've written in ages,I took great care to avoid major spoilers.
IT:The Dud Chapter (2019)6/10The lone person to return from the writers club of part one, the loss of Chase Palmer and Cary Joji Fukunaga is one greatly felt in Gary Dauberman's adaptation of the second half of the novel, where once each member of the Losers Club was given a progression in their character arc of defeating their fears and a growth in maturity, is here replaced by Dauberman with keeping them all largely in one place, (with only Richie being given the sliver of change.)This is most notable in the poor writing treatment of Beverly,whose suffering of parental/spouse abuse is revealed to leave her with deep scars, none of which leads to a cathartic release that the films had appeared to be building towards.
Staying true to the opening of the adult time-line in the novel with a horrific homophobic attack from thugs, Dauberman begins a recurrent theme of presenting what should be major events in the Losers Clubs lives,only to leave them hanging,from the opening attack, to Bill trying to save a child who gets killed by Pennywise, leading to Bill crying for five minutes, only to completely move on and no hint of the psychological effect it has had on him being offered. Bringing a new Comedy element into the tale, for the first hour Dauberman actually makes it work, via the sarcastic jokes they share actually establishing the bonds the adult Losers Club share, which builds to a Chinese meal reunion set-piece (the highlight of the film) that balances laughs with Pennywise shocks.
Digging “going underground” (both physical & mentally) as being the main theme of the title, Dauberman shovels up the suppressed memories of the Losers Club,and buries the film. Going into long individual flashbacks,Dauberman takes them to a repetitive dead-end,due to Pennywise clearly not being a threat in the sequences due to it being flashbacks,and all of them going round in circles which instead of adding depth to the characters, lands on miss-placed gags. Running a gag across the film that people hate the ending,Dauberman ends the adult time line in the Losers Club epic fight on a hollow note, because of a failure by Dauberman to build arcs underground, but incredibly,at the last minute finds the spirit of the first IT,and delivers a touchingly poetic quality to the fading childhood days of the Losers Club.
Craning down to the Losers Club on their bikes, returning director Andy Muschietti displays in his close working with cinematographer Checco Varese, (replacing Chan-wook Park’s regular cinematographer, the far superior Chung-hoon Chung,who did IT 1) a striking skilfulness in capturing a fading memory of childhood summer days atmosphere, spinning on long crane/panning shots of the Loser Club kids cycling down the sun-lit streets of Derry. Continuing a motif first drawn in Mama, (2013-also reviewed) Muschietti links the chapters with excellent, highly-stylised transition shots/ overlapping images,turning the pages to the unresolved childhood traumas overlapping in the adult lives of the Losers Club,and in the two stand-out jump-scares, (in a house of mirrors and at a sports game) Muschietti offers a glimpse of using shadows in making Pennywise an imposing figure.
Making a drastic change from the first, Muschietti places most of the jump-scares to take place in daylight,which without the aide of the gloomy lighting from part 1, in the cold light of day look shockingly poor, amateur hour,flat CGI creations. Going underground for the final, Muschietti and Varesecharge at the End of Level Boss the films have been building towards, and ruins it all by covering the entire 40 minute set-piece in strobe lighting which jabs the viewer in the eyes,and makes it almost un-watchable. When not masked in a overload of naff CGI, Bill Skarsgård makes a chilling return as the animalistic Pennywise, whilst Bill Hader gives the stand out performance in the Losers Club as Richie,thanks to Hader using his comedic skill of giving out dead-pan one-liners,to actually build a character arc for Richie,with Hader capturing Richie’s gradual fear that they are all about to write their final chapter in life.
Right,now that crap is out the way,onto the good stuff with a Japanese Neo-Noir:
Chaos (2000) 10
Controlling the chaos with rain bookending the film, (a recurring motif across his credits) directing auteur Hideo Nakata brings the stilted silent dread of Horror into this twist towards psychological Thriller/Neo-Noir, stringing the long black hair chills out with cinematographer Tokusho Kikumura, down winding tracking shots and unsettlingly long takes wide-shots held on the palpable fear of another twist bending in the kidnapping plan.
Backed by the primal rage of tribal drums from his regular composer Kenji Kawai, Nakata weaves a measured atmosphere to tightening the knots, patting the blues and yellows during the murky dealings down to dust, blemished with smacks of red when the kidnapping goes off the rails, sealed in startling close-ups aimed at when a new element to the tale is revealed.
Leaving the dining table with Saori in the opening,Hisashi Saito's adaptation of Shogo Utano's novel Sarawaretai Onna/The Woman Who Wants to Be Kidnapped pays immaculate attention to the layering of the dialogue brewing psychological anxiety over Saori's kidnapping being not what it appears, thanks to Saito bringing an importance to the dialogue in turning the screws on the image Saori,her husband, kidnapper Kuroda and model Satomi makes people believe is their true selves.
Placing paths coming together between Kuroda/ Saori's husband Komiyama and model Satomi on a high level of pure chance, Saito impressively makes this work with a thrilling dovetail deconstruction, via first playing out Saori's kidnapping straight, then folding each corner to the power-playing being twisted under the skin.
Reuniting with Nakata after Ringu, Miki Nakatani gives a utterly mesmerising dual performance as Saori/ Satomi, burning with a refined, Femme Fatale seductiveness as Saori, paired up to a seeping into knife-edge madness Satomi, who holds Komiyama and Kuroda's gaze as a almost mirage presence to their desires. Finding himself thrown into the middle of mind-games, Masato Hagiwara gives a great turn as kidnapper Kuroda,who Hagiwara has firmly attempt to do everything by the book, but becomes increasingly tied to the chaos.
Japanese cinema in the 70's:
Osou! (1978) 8
Driving with Yano as she flicks through a Adult magazine in her cop car over the opening, director Yasuharu Hasebe continues his Pinku run with a nicely sleazy atmosphere, framing Yano detached in her questioning of suspects, who are having sex during the enquires,and a surprisingly restrained masturbation scene of Yano trying to accept herself again. Paying tribute to the Giallo via the black gloves of the rapist being the only part shown of him, Hasebe holds the perspective of the rape sequences from Yano's horrified face, handling a grubby atmosphere of the disembodied hands of the rapist gripping Yano.
Wearing inspiration of not only the Giallo sub-genre, but also A Clockwork Orange, Hasbe creates a abrasive juxtaposition in the rape scenes uncomfortably being played out to sped-up Classical music, which shatters on the handcuff bruises covering Yano's wrists, that hold her from being able to find pleasure from vengeance after getting left broken. Not listed on the IMDb credits, the screenplay by Hideichi Nagahara spilt the sleaze from interviewing of suspects,with a harsh bitterness of the confirmed identity of the rapist left hanging in the air for Yano. Stripped of her sunny side in the opening, cute Yoko Azusa gives a terrific performance as Yano, grasping in desperation to hold onto the last slithers of pleasure and a desire for vengeance to stop the attacks.
Bullet Train (1975) 9
Chugging along for over 2 and a half hours (!) co-writer/(with Ryunosuke Ono and Sunao Sakagami) director Jun'ya Sato & cinematographer Masahiko Iimura impressively keep everything on track by cranking Disaster Movie explosions with a Thriller atmosphere, via quick-draw zoom-ins on the staff at the Bullet Train headquarters sweating over figuring out where the bomb is,whilst darting whip-pans drive along to the failed attempts by the police to catch the terrorists red handed. Backed by the delightfully odd J-Funk score from Hachiro Aoyama, Sato and Iimura match the tension away from the platform with excellent filming inside a real Bullet Train, running down the carriages towards the panicking passengers,and stepping off to wide-shots capturing day turning into night on the deepening crisis.
One of the staples of the genre, the screenplay by Ono/ Sakagami and Sato bring the pre-Speed threat that a bomb will go off if the train dips below 80mph to home in lively Melodrama thumbnail sketches of the passengers opening up about the lives they led before getting aboard, that are contrasted with brooding flashbacks centred around Okita losing everything, to the point he joins some political radicals and becomes a terrorist. Igniting the ticking time bomb,Ken Takakura gives a great performance as terrorist Okita,whose straight-lace manner allows Takakura to bring a grit in tense phone-call exchanges with Shin'ichi Chiba's great turn as the anxious Aoki, who negotiates to keep the Bullet Train on track.
The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979) 10
Going round the sun for 2 and a half hours, co-writer/(with Leonard "brother of Paul" Schrader ) director Kazuhiko Hasegawa & cinematographer Tatsuo Suzuki keep the rotation topsy-turvy with a thrilling ease to slide genres/styles around, from ultra-stylised multi-coloured, zany Comedy Pop-Art hopping to Kido stealing the nuke, transforming into a gritty close-ups smash-cut car chase and of a cop going nuclear on Kido. Holding the nuke over a long period, Hasegawa finely balances a bright off-beat Comedy atmosphere with vast-wide shots tracking the cops following Kido's demands,and their attempts to pick him from out of a crowd.
Taking the sun to bed with him, the screenplay by Hasegawa and Schrader develops the characterisation of Kido with a refreshing zest, bringing out in the sparkling Black Comedy dialogue Kido's friendly, but peculiar nature, whose stealing of a nuke takes him from being a loner up to his own devices, to Kido stretching out his hand for some level of friendship owing to the nuke.Powered by a wondrous genre bending taking in fears of nukes and promises of the Rolling Stones playing in Japan, the writers keep sending out curve balls,which act to switch gears,and at the same time increase Kido's fever from the simmering comedic,into a thunderous, fabulous boiling point ending. Holding the whole nuke in his hands,Kenji Sawada gives a excellent performance as Kido, who Sawada trims from lively and chirpy to shacking with sickness,and ringing radio shows for advice from listeners over what he should do,as the man who stole the sun.
Sister Street Fight,films 2-4.
SSF 2: 8.
Stepping forward for a second round,Etsuko Shihomi gives a spellbinding turn as Koryu, whose fighting moves Shihomi again performs with a graceful passion,this time welded by Shihomi to Koryu's raw emotions to get revenge. Proving that diamonds are forever, Hideo Murota steals the movie as boo-hiss baddie Osone, thanks to Murota bringing out a gleefully sadistic, cackling harshness in Osone.
Made just a few months after the first SST, returning writer Masahiro Kakefuda is joined by Norifumi Suzuki in taking the outline of SST 1,and twisting it in a new off the wall direction. Returning to smugglers being the villains,the writers joyfully present them in a dastardly, pulp manner, slicing into the world of Grindhouse when the smugglers surgically implant their diamonds into the buttocks of Hong Kong prostitutes who are then sent to Hong Kong. Jumping back into another round, the writers drive Koryu's force in taking down the gang with a wicked personal touch of her sister being involved with them.
Joining Kakefuda and Shihomi in this reunion, director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi & cinematographer Yoshio Nakajima take their frantic karate chops of SS1,and dice them with a blazing atmosphere that crosses over into the Pinky Violence genre. Backed by Shunsuke Kikuchi's terrific twang score, Yamaguchi twirls a gloriously excessive sleazy atmosphere, springing from naked fitties, slick whip-pans on every bloody finishing move, a dip into tasty Lucio fulci-style eye gouging,all loaded in bubbling brash vibrant colours oozing 70's Grindhouse fumes, ultra-stylised zoom-ins and wah-wah freeze frames catching Sister Street Fighter hanging by a thread.
SSF 3. 6.
After crossing into Pinky Violence for the second film in the series, (also reviewed) returning director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi disappointingly pulls back for a back to basics karate final. Appearing to have a lower budget,Yamaguchi & cinematographer Masahiko Iimura make the most of smaller locations with stylish up-close camera moves giving the setting a tight, confined appearance, clotheslined in smooth panning shots fully displaying each fighting move. Joined by new co-writer Takeo Kaneko, returning Masahiro Kakefuda takes the recurring choruses of the first two flicks, and hits them with a heightened Melodrama cut, as gold smuggler's melt the stealing of a mother/daughter as a carrot to get Koryu into their den. Even when gripping material not performing roundhouse kicks, Etsuko Shihomi shines in her final turn as Koryu,bringing out a excitement in her attempt to protect the mum/daughter, and in performing deadly knock out attacks for the returning street fighter.
SSF 4. 7.
Creating a bookend after having made the first in the franchise, (also reviewed) director Shigehiro Ozawa returns for this sequel in name only,and whilst the violence and sleaze of past SSF has been toned down,Ozawa unveils new flourishes, such as a lively touch for mad-cap 4th wall breaking sequences whip-panning around a corrupt film studio. Stylishly zooming in on the baddies, Ozawa strikes a graceful note for the final film he directed, via gliding along the Action set-pieces to allow each move to be crispy viewed,only to all be crunched down on a icy ambiguous freeze frame final image.
Appearing to be made with a more international audience in mind, the screenplay by returning SSF1 writer Motohiro Torii,and new to the series Isao Matsumoto hit a terrific one-two punch of keeping Nakagawa to the SSF standard of being a expert street fighter, while leaning towards inspiration from American cinema, such as a Blaxploitation boyfriend, a mix of English & Japanese for the dialogue, and the edging of Film Noir in the seediness of the baddies. The one constant in the SSF series,Etsuko Shihomi gives a excellent performance as Nakagawa,who Shihomi has discover not only a need to win at street fighting,but also against a studio system.
Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970) 10.
Kicking off with a bang,Arrow present a great transfer, with each note on the soundtrack roaring, and whist the picture has some moments when it is dark, (likely due to the makers using cheap film stock) Arrow keep the colours on the picture clean and vibrant. Circling in on biker Ako driving into the camera, director Yasuharu Hasebe & cinematographer Muneo Ueda charge up with a blazing unique multi- genre criss-cross of a "Happening" hanging out 60's/70's flick, a rebellious teen group,a Musical (!), and all wrapped up in Film Noir double crossing. Facing all those different genres, Hasbe and Ueda astonishingly make them all fit together, thanks to splashing the streets in a Punk Rock atmosphere of blazing primary colours shimmering on the catchy songs performed at concerts and the animated tough chicks Ako and the Stray Cat gang.
Appearing to have sequences filmed guerilla -style as a motorbike drives down the stairs of a subway station,Hasbe takes the Power-Pop appearance of the Stray Cats and punches the gritty underworld with Pop-Art ultra-stylisation,landing killer hits in a first-person filmed boxing match, Comic-Book panels placed round the characters, riding into the fights to eye-catching freeze-frames on the attacks,pulled across via whip-fast tracking shots following the gang fights. For the first in the series, the screenplay by Hideichi Nagahara offers up a fantastic, velvety pulpy creation, springing from Ako's head-on confrontation with a all-male gang in the opening, leaping to the Film Noir thrill of Ako and Stray Cat leader Mei encouraging a boxer called Kelly to not follow demands from underworld gang Seiyu Group to lose the match,but instead win it, leading to Seiyu being down for the count,with an eye for revenge. Entering as a outsider, Akiko Wada gives a wicked turn as Ako,whose clipped lines of dialogue Wada delivers with a self-confidence of Ako being the toughest in town, whilst sexy Meiko Kaji brings a a fighter instinct out of Mei, who turns out to be far from the only stray cat.
